A Step-by-Step Guide to Leveraging Social Media for Link Building

A look at social media statistics as of 2022 reveals some interesting insights. As of October of that year, there were over 4.74 billion social media users globally. That translates to 59.3% of the world’s population. 190 million new users came on board within the last year. In growth terms, it signifies a 4.2% increase or six new users every second. If the trends are anything to go by, we can expect the numbers to keep rising. 

So what does this mean for digital marketers? Well, there are tons of opportunities for generating brand visibility. Indeed, social media has become a critical component in search engine optimization (SEO). And one area in which it is making inroads is quality link building. 

Getting quality inbound links has many benefits for the brand. It is a sign of endorsement from linking sites that you are credible and an authority in your niche. The quality of links is also a critical factor in ranking algorithms. 

In this article, we’ll explore why social media is a great resource for link building and how to effectively use it for more organic search visibility and growth. With the right strategy in place, you can discover and create new link opportunities and widen your reach to potential customers, both online and offline. So if you’re looking to boost your website’s SEO, social media is your ally! 

Our article provides a step-by-step guide to leveraging social media for link building. Read on for excellent tips that will boost your digital marketing efforts. 

Social Media and Search Engine Optimisation

It is essential to understand whether social media impacts SEO. To answer the question, it is vital to have clarity on the role of SEO. 

SEO is any process to improve your rankings on search engines. You work at improving brand visibility, gaining popularity, and showcasing authority. And that is the goal SEO link building services providers aim to achieve. The professionals use whitehat link-building services. Such include guest posting, link reclamation, and more for organic link building.

The success of all these tactics depends on how many people you can reach. And therein resides the power of social media. While social media may not have a direct impact on rankings, you get access to a broad audience base. Proper digital marketing strategies can increase website traffic. 

The content you have will determine how long they engage. Remember, high bounce rates and low stay rates can affect your rankings. It signals to the search engines that something is wrong with your site. Relevant content and linkable/shareable assets improve the chances of quality links on your pages.

With the above in mind, we will show you how to leverage social media for quality link-building. 

1. Start Quality Link Building from Your Social Media Profile

When creating a social media profile, give relevant information about your business. That includes contact details, business name, business type, business purposes, and more. 

In the information, it is also vital that you have a link back to your website homepage. That makes it easy for followers who want to connect with you or know more about the brand from the website. They don’t suffer the inconvenience of logging off social media and opening a new window to look for your site. 

2. Nurture Relationships with the Right People

The social nature of social media means no aggressive hard-sell marketing language. You will win more points if you nurture relationships with the right people. Think of it like a typical friendship that brings tons of benefits to both parties. 

When we use the words ‘the right people,’ it means those who can help in your quality link building. That is not to say that the audiences are not vital. Indeed, followers sharing posts with your links is excellent for organic link building. But, it would help if you build relationships with people who align with your brand. 

Nurturing relationships entails identifying the people you want to work with. After that, become active participants in their conversations and content. That includes sharing their stuff on your social accounts. 

The next step is to reach out to them and pitch your partnership idea. If they see value in what you say, there may be an opportunity for collaboration. 

 Please take note of the following because they can make a big difference to your quality link building. 

• Influencers

Influencers have the advantage of having a ready group of loyal followers. Don’t fret about the high cost of partnering with top influencers. There is the choice of micro-influencers who are more accessible. They usually have around 1000 to 5000 followers. This is unlike macro-influencers, whose numbers can be 100,000 followers and above. 

Micro-influencers have higher engagement rates with their followers than macro-influencers. Thus you can achieve better brand visibility with them. 

•  Bloggers and Brands

Look for bloggers or brands that align with yours. Reach out to them and start engaging and interacting with them. Many organic link-building opportunities can arise from such relationships. These include brand mentions, guest posting, link exchanges, and more. 

But please note that excessive link exchanges fall under Google’s link-building schemes. Do seek advice from your link-building agency before using these tactics. You do not want to face Google penalties for black hat link-building tactics. 

• Journalists

Journalists are other influential people to connect with on social media. Look for those who are specific to your niche or industry. What you may need to learn is that the media are always looking for stories or news items. 

So, position yourself as an information source. Share newsworthy content in the form of editorial or opinion pieces. Ensure you provide fresh insights like what you would get with research or surveys. Be bold and ask for a link to your website if they use your material. 

• Networking Groups

Social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn have excellent networking groups. And you can achieve a lot of traction in your organic link-building efforts. 

Join networking groups that align with your industry. Maintain an active presence to build a profile and get noticed. Share plenty of relevant, topical, linkable, or shareable assets. Listen to the trending topics and work on content around these. 

Also, be the first to respond with well-researched, factual content if someone asks a question. Only post part of the article, though. Give an engaging snippet and put a link to the whole article. That is an effective way to get organic traffic to your site. 

Over time group members will see you as an authority and credible source of information. You may not even need to ask for links back to your site when they share your content. But remember to include a link to all the content you share. 

3. Think Viral Content for Quality Link Building

The beauty of viral content is that audiences love to share such. So, focus on the following if you want to achieve that. 

•  Forget generic. Go specific with audience targeting. Yes, you will reach a smaller audience base because relevance matters. But you can be sure of more shares and links. 

•  Use clickbait to your advantage. Who doesn’t appreciate a little sensationalization, intrigue, or mystery? But don’t go overboard. And don’t deceive readers by having content that does not match your catchy titles. 

• Connect at an emotional level. We all love and share those awe-inspiring or tear-inducing videos, articles, or quotes, right?

• Target teens or young adults with viral content as they are more likely to share such. 

•  Maintain active real-time engagement with your viral content. Subtle stoking of the fires can keep the discussions alive longer, thus, more shares. 

4. Generate Interest in Your Content

We can all agree that there is so much content on the internet. And the same applies to social media. Getting your target to interact with what you share can get quite frustrating. Yet success at engaging will increase the chances of getting links. 

There are effective ways to break above the clutter, including the following. 

• Focus on engaging, concise content. You can provide an interest-provoking snippet to a longer article. Remember, no one has time to read long winding texts on social media. Ensure you place a link back to the website for access to the full article. 

• Use linkable and shareable assets like Infographics, studies, research findings, and more. These are likely to generate interest that generic content. 
• Undertake plenty of competitor research to see what they are doing. Look at what is attracting the most interest. Then, work on creating better content. 
• Submit content to social networks, news sites, or content communities. 

Explore the option of evergreen content. Such content always stays in style and will maintain relevance for a long time. These include instructional material, product manuals, or videos. Others are case studies, data-driven studies, user hacks, and tips. The advantage of evergreen content is you can showcase expertise or industry authority. Also, you become the go-to source of information or solution provider. Finally, such content is shareable. This is because it provides valuable information to audiences all year round. 

Final Thoughts

Social media is a powerful tool for link-building – when used correctly. By creating quality content, tracking key metrics, and diversifying your social platforms, you can effectively build links for your website or business. 

Utilising the right combination of strategies will help you to expand your reach and generate quality backlinks. Ultimately, this can boost your online presence and visibility, potentially increasing your website’s search engine rankings and making sure that your content is seen by the right audiences. Connecting the dots between your website and social media channels will undoubtedly benefit your business in the long run.

A link-building agency or consultant can walk you through some of the steps above. You benefit from their expertise and can avoid breaking Google’s link-building guidelines. Further, you can be sure of ROI for whatever you spend.